Cash Station users eyed as possible witnesses

Originally published Feb. 6, 1993

In an attempt to find witnesses, Palatine police are checking bank records to see who used a Cash Station machine near the Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant the night seven people were killed.

Cash Station is working to identify people who used the machine, which is located at the Household Bank on the southwest corner of Northwest Highway and Smith Street. The Brown's restaurant is on the northeast corner.

Cards used to make transactions include a code that identifies the bank that issued the card. Each bank then can identify the cardholder based on the code, Cash Station president Steve Cole said. Although the Cash Station is at Household Bank, users aren't necessarily customers there, he said.

Police then can contact the cardholders to see if they saw anything unusual on Jan. 8, the night of the murders.

Household Bank already has turned over to police film from a surveillance camera at the Cash Station, bank President Charles Colip said.

Tree to be planted in victims' memory

Wanting a lasting, living memorial to the victims of the mass murders at Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant, a Palatine resident is accepting donations to buy a tree at the new Palatine Library, 700 N. Court Drive.

The Palatine Library District late last year created an adopt-a-tree program under which individuals or organizations could donate $250 for a tree. A permanent plaque listing all the honorees will be on display inside the library, which is scheduled to open in late summer or early fall.

Carol Barnes has established the Palatine Remembrance Fund at Suburban National Bank, 50 N. Brockway St. in Palatine to buy a flowering pear tree in the victims' memories and plant it at the front of the building.

Reward-seeker charged with filing false report

An Elgin man, apparently hoping to claim rewards of more than $100,000, was charged with filing a false police report after he told Palatine police last month he witnessed the murders.

After questioning the man, Robert A. McQueeny, 20, police determined that he was making up his story. He was charged with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor.

Dance party benefit held at Hob Nob

The owners of the Hob Nob Restaurant in Palatine hope to raise $10,000 this weekend to help find those responsible for the brutal murders at the Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant.

The last of three weekend dance parties will be tonight, with all of the $5 cover charges and 50 percent of weekend bar sales going to the Palatine reward fund. That fund will provide at least $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers.

Hob Nob entertainment director Steve Kolios said the dance party will begin about 9 p.m. at the restaurant, 10 N. Northwest Highway.